At a ceremony to be held at the White House on July 23, 2003, the
President will award the Nation's highest civil honor, the Presidential
Medal of Freedom, to the following individuals:

Jacques Barzun is a former Columbia University professor and dean,
and author and scholar of modern European thought and culture. His
critically acclaimed books include Race, A Study in Modern
Superstition; Marx, Darwin, Wagner: Critique of a Heritage; and the
more recent From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural
Life: 1500 to the Present.

Julia Child is a master chef, television pioneer, and author who
changed the way many Americans cook. From her cookbooks to her
numerous television series, she has delighted and educated amateur and
professional chefs around the world.

Roberto Clemente Walker's Hall of Fame baseball career took him
from Puerto Rico to the Pittsburgh Pirates. His lifetime batting
average was .371 with 240 home runs and 1,305 RBI's. He was also
committed to helping the less fortunate. His career was cut tragically
short by an accident as he was delivering emergency relief to
earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

Van Cliburn, at the age of 23, won the first Tchaikovsky
International Piano Competition held in 1958 in Moscow, just months
after the Sputnik launch. Throughout his long career as a concert
pianist, he has entertained audiences around the world with his talents
and continues to inspire young artists to achieve excellence.

Václav Havel's acclaimed plays about the oppressive Communist rule
of his native Czechoslovakia caused him to be imprisoned numerous
times. He persevered as a strong voice for freedom of his homeland and
a voice throughout the world for democracy. Havel became president of
the new Czech Republic, leading the new democratic nation until earlier
this year.

Charlton Heston is an Academy Award winning actor and an eloquent,
early voice on behalf of civil rights in the United States and
democracy around the world. His films include The Greatest Show on
Earth, El Cid, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Ben Hur, The Ten
Commandments, and Planet of the Apes, among many others.

Edward Teller left his native Hungary to escape the rise of Nazi
Germany. After arriving in America, he established himself as a
premier physicist. His work on national defense projects such as the
Manhattan Project and the Strategic Defense Initiative helped protect
our Nation and bring about the end of the Cold War.

R. David Thomas's
hard work, business sense, and perseverance led him to create one of
the world's largest restaurant chains. In memory of his grandmother's
advice to "never cut corners," his restaurants, named after one of his
daughters, became known for their square hamburger patties. A
philanthropist, and having been adopted himself, Dave was a life-long
advocate for adoption.

Byron Raymond White led an extraordinary American life. He was
named an All-American athlete and Rhodes Scholar, earned a Bronze Star
in World War II, played in the NFL and led the league in rushing,
worked to defend civil rights as Deputy Attorney General, and served
for 31 years as a Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States.

James Q. Wilson has written influential works on the nature of
human morality, government, and criminal justice issues. A noted
social commentator and professor at both Harvard and UCLA, his books
include Varieties of Police Behavior: The Management of Law and Order
in Eight Communities, The Moral Sense, and The Marriage Problem: How
Our Culture Has Weakened Families.

John R. Wooden is a record-setting college basketball coach and
exceptional teacher whose UCLA Bruins won 10 National Championships in
12 years. His teams reflected his discipline, character, and work
ethic. His Pyramid of Success has inspired generations.